Mental health has long been a challenge within our community, but awareness and recognition of its importance are finally increasing. Stichting HUNTO has supported around 1,500 people who have sought help and are currently receiving care for their mental health needs.
Dalgis Montalvo, Director of Stichting HUNTO, explains that their organization focuses on providing accessible, basic mental health services. This initiative began about two years ago because previously, all mental health care was concentrated within the psychiatry department. “As a team, we recognized the need to offer support at an earlier stage to prevent issues from becoming more severe.”
Montalvo adds that the goal is to intervene early and prevent individuals from developing chronic conditions that require specialized treatment. For Stichting HUNTO, it was essential to build and organize this service since it was a new approach that had not existed before in Aruba.
While many private psychologists were available, basic mental health care became a pressing need across the island. “We needed to establish structured processes and involve multiple disciplines because mental health is not solely about psychology. Some cases require social work support or specialized assessments to determine if the condition is chronic.”
